Stendel: "It was a fantastic performance."

Daniel Stendel saluted a ‘fantastic’ Barnsley performance on Tuesday evening as a Kieffer Moore hat-trick inspired his side to a thumping 4-0 victory over Rochdale.

Speaking after the game at Spotland, the Reds’ Head Coach praised his players who have now scored ten goals and kept four clean sheets in their opening four Sky Bet League One outings.

“I’m very proud of my team; it was a fantastic performance from the first minute,” declared Stendel.“I think that Rochdale are also a good team, but we didn’t give them a chance because we pressurised them for 90 minutes and we had a lot of chances to score. We were very good today.

“For me, every opponent is a new opponent – not good or bad – and we want to give the best, and today was a very good performance. I think in all games – today we have scored and won the game – we have played well. The next game is Scunthorpe on Saturday and they are a good team, and we are prepared for this.”

Brad Potts’ diving header set Barnsley on their way in Greater Manchester, but it was Moore who stole the headlines with a magnificent treble as he got his goal tally up and running in devastating style.

The Reds’ target man scored four times in the Championship last season, but was prolific in the first half of the campaign while on loan at Rotherham United where he netted 13 goals in 22 League One appearances.

“It’s good for him because he didn’t score in the first three games, but he works hard for the team and it’s very good that he scored today – we’re very happy for him,” continued Stendel.

“We have seen this in the last few weeks – he’s very tall, very quick and mobile, and today we started with him on the right side and had more chances for him to attack inside, which was different to the last games. It was very good for him today.”

Also impressive during Tuesday’s rout were Alex Mowatt and summer recruit Kenny Dougall, who has adapted well to the rigours of English football following his arrival from Sparta Rotterdam.

Tenacious midfielder Mowatt sampled the third-tier last season having moved on loan to Oxford United in January, and that experience seems to be holding the 23-year-old in good stead.

“I think both Alex and Kenny were very, very good,” said the Reds’ Head Coach. “They put in a similar performance on Saturday, only three days ago – it’s unbelievable because they do a lot of running, put lots of pressure on the ball. They work very hard on the pitch.

“I think it’s a success for all the team. I think Rochdale had one chance directly after half-time and Adam Davies made a good save. All of our players do really good work off the ball, after they lose the ball and the result is that we haven’t conceded a goal yet.”

The Reds were backed by another incredible following, with 1,703 Barnsley fans making up 39% of the 4,359 attendance at Spotland.

Stendel is delighted with the support his side have received so far this season, and wants to continue to please the Reds’ faithful with more clinical displays.

“I think it’s important for our young team that we have a good connection with the supporters,” insisted Stendel. “At the moment it’s very good, but we need time to develop the team and continue to connect with the supporters.

“Today was a good day and I hope we have a lot more of these moments.”